10 Must-Know Facts About Martin Margiela

You may know and love the fashion house Maison Margiela, but perhaps not its creator, Martin Margiela. Born in Belgium in 1957, Martin Margiela is notoriously reclusive, so if you can’t picture him clearly in your mind’s eye, don't feel bad. What is easily recognizable about the mysterious designer is his influence on fashion. In every deconstructed, upcycled, and/or oversized silhouette you see there is a bit of Margiela. These characteristics were early trademark’s of the designer, long before the industry became saturated with all three. Margiela was devoted to sartorial history and the societal implications of how garments are made. He treated clothing like a surgeon: carefully dissecting in order to reassemble in unexpected ways, leaving each piece better than when he found it. 

In the late 1980s Margiela moved to Paris, just in time to join the next generation of emerging talent including Ann Demeulemeester and Dries Van Noten. He took an internship with the famous French designer Jean Paul Gaultier, after which he launched his own house, Maison Margiela. The rebellious disposition of the brand was quickly beloved by fashion. From gritty runway locations, to the unconventional models who walked in them, and the ever popular split-toe Tabi shoe, the label's distinct sense of fashion morphed into a style all its own. But it morphed too quickly for Martin Margiela, who feared being sucked into the designer-as-celebrity culture and losing the quality of his clothes to the warp speed demands of fashion commerce.

So he disappeared. All at once Margiela refused interviews, to be photographed, or even exchange backstage pleasantries after a show. He sent clothes down runways without explanation or defense if they received criticism. Margiela’s only loyalties were to his clothing and his customers, and it dumbfounded the industry. In 2008 the designer had his very last show and 11 years later released the story behind all of his work in a documentary, Martin Margiela: In His Own Words. Created by filmmaker Reiner Holzemer, the film debuted at the Doc NYC film festival in 2019 and is now available on Amazon Prime for streaming.

In Martin Margiela: In His Own Words, the designer maintains anonymity by never showing his face, only allowing his voice to be heard. His audio is accompanied by various other fashion historians and experts, and is more than enough to understand Margiela’s creative vision. But in case you want to learn more, L’OFFICIEL digs up 10 facts you probably didn’t know about Margiela.